A Newport couple, Stan and Peggy McDaniel, say they plan to develop a 275-lot subdivision for recreational vehicles on a plateau north of that city near the Pend Oreille River. They estimate the total cost of the development at $18 million.


The McDaniels, who are developing the project through a company theyve formed called Saddle Mountain RV Resort LLC, of Newport, began grading work on the project recently, and plan within the next nine months to have water, electricity, septic facilities, and paved roads extended to every lot. They hope to sell all of the lots within the next three to five years, says Peggy McDaniel.


The couple owns a 680-acre equestrian guest ranch about seven miles north of Newport and plans to carve out about 100 acres of that land for the RV subdivision.


We were studying how to better market our 5-year-old guest ranch and came across studies that said that, since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, U.S. citizens are vacationing in the U.S., rather than overseas, says McDaniel. The RV business is booming and is becoming a lifestyle for many Americans.


She says RV lot sizes there will average 40 feet by 90 feet, with some as large as 40 feet by 130 feet. Beginning prices for each lot will range between $50,000 and $100,000, with the higher prices asked for 35 lots that will have views overlooking the river and lots located near an 8,000-square-foot lodge thats to be built on the property, McDaniel says. She says prices likely will go higher, depending on the market.


Saddle Mountain RV Resort currently is taking lot reservations and will begin finalizing sales on those lots by the end of September, says McDaniel.


Ken Hamill, publisher-editor of Big Rigs Best Bets, a Kerrville, Texas-based directory that rates RV parks across America and has visited the Newport site, says, Saddle Mountain is destined to be a premier RV resort in the Northwest, assuming the owners follow through with their site plans.


Rich Stockwell, of RV Park Consulting LLC, of La Conner, Wash., whos consulting on the Saddle Mountain project, says the Newport development will meet the needs of larger RVs, and that the subdivision could sell out even sooner than within three years.


The old RV sites are often too small now, and there is a huge need to accommodate the newer RVs, he says. There are many people looking for larger sites, and many are buying more than one site when they find them.


To reach the planned RV park, motorists must drive east from Newport into Idaho across the U.S. 2 bridge, turn immediately north on Leclerc Road, then drive for seven miles as the road follows the river, curling to the northwest and back into Washington. They then must turn right onto Indian Creek Road and continue for a half-mile.


The McDaniels have been working toward developing the RV subdivision for more than three years, but were slowed in part by Pend Oreille Countys lack of an ordinance governing the sale of lots in such developments, McDaniel says. County commissioners approved an interim ordinance June 6, paving the way for the project to proceed, she says.


She says the company also owns eight acres of waterfront property below the plateau on the northeast bank of the river and has begun negotiating with the county to develop a marina there.


We would probably begin with about 30 slips for sale and add to that number depending on demand, says McDaniel. She says the current plan is to connect the marina to the RV park with a quarter-mile golf-cart trail.


Campground Engineers, of Newport, Maine, is the engineer on the project, and Construction Corp., of Trinity, Texas, is the general contractor.


Caribou Creek Log Homes Inc., of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, will design and construct the lodge, McDaniel says. She says the lodge will include an indoor swimming pool, meeting rooms, and kitchen facilities for small gatherings, and that use of the its amenities will be included with the purchase price of an RV lot.


The McDaniels operate the equestrian ranch through a separate company called Saddle Mountain Guest Ranch Corp.


The equestrian ranch offers trail rides and riding lessons for adults and children and boards horses for its customers. McDaniel says the ranch rents out a 10-person bunkhouse, is building a 1,600-square-foot camp lodge for administrative and camp uses, and plans in the next three to five years to build four more 10-person bunkhouses.


Contact Rocky Wilson at (509) 344-1264 or via e-mail at rockyw@spokanejournal.com.